i would have to see the video tape, he did make one didn't he, to see if the Orangeburg goes all the way to the main in the street. It has been my experience that the pipe from the city main to your property line is usually clay tile, but I had one last week where the Orangeburg went all the way to the main in the customer's back yard. in the areas I am familiar with, it is the customer's responsibility to maintain, and replace, the pipe under the street to the city's main line. The cost depends on the depth and whether there are obstructions that have to be moved or avoided. I hate companies that do that, refund the cost of their service if you have them do the job. It automatically makes any work done by another company that much more expensive, so the first company can overbid by something a little less than the competition's price plus their service and still get the job. It also means that if the customer is going by price, they will go with that company regardless of the quality of work that will be performed.

: I moved into a home here in Vienna, VA on 12/29/03. We had sewage backing up into our toilet on 1/3/04, so I called RotoRooter out and they snaked it ($368.00). There was one obstruction about all the way to the main city line. Everything was fine, until 1/25/04 when it backed up again. Called RotoRooter out and they snaked it for an additional $286.00. Guess I get a discount for repeat business. There were 3 obstructions this time instead of the one obstruction that the first guy snaked. We scheduled a guy to come out with a camera and he came out today.: Guy tells me (after charging $337.50) that I have Orangeburg pipe leading from my house to the main city line. I watch on the video camera and can see where small tree roots are growing between the joints. The pipe is oblong and oval shapped in places. He tells me that portions of it are missing on the bottom. I couldn't see that part, though. I do see a few ridges and bumps that he tells me could catch toilet paper and cause the back up. It was a convincing presentation that the pipe is wearing out. He give me a quote and tells me they'll knock off the price of the video camera if I use them to replace the pipe - $3300.00.: This is if the city will pay for the cost of replacing the pipe from the city line to the curb.: This is putting me in quite a funk. I just paid a lot of money for this house and I would like some other options. Can it really be that expensive? I've seen quotes of around $750-1000 to do this kind of work on this board. I've talked to my neighbors and they tell me that they have the pipe snaked once a year in the winter and that works for them. What am I to do? Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks.: J.R. in DC